Job description:
- Usually elevator installer or repairer work behind a union and begin the career through a 4-year apprentice or intern program. Elevator installers and repairers-also called elevator constructors or elevator mechanics-assemble, install, and replace elevators, escalators, chairlifts, dumbwaiters, moving walkways, and similar equipment in new and old buildings. Once the equipment is in service, they maintain and repair it as well. They also are responsible for modernizing older equipment.
- Elevator installers and repairers need to have a good sense of electronics, hydraulics, technology and electricity. Many elevators are operated using microprocessors/microships, which have been programmed to operate elevators in an efficient manner. Elevator installers and repairers specialize in installing, maintaining, or repairing any needed elevators.
- Most elevator installers and repairers work a eight hours a day and forty hours a week. However, overtime is available when equipment need to be repaired. Some workers are on call 24 hours a day.
Training, Certifications and Educational Requirements:
- Most elevators installers and repairers begin their training and education in an apprenticeship program. The programs teach a range of skills that can also be on-the-job paid training. The training includes classroom instructions in blueprint reading, electrical and electronic theory, mathematics, applications of physics, and safety.
Job Outlook, Salary and Earnings:
- Becoming an elevator installer or repairer has excellent employment opportunities that are expected to increase over the years. Elevator installers and repairers are affected less by seasonality and bumps in the economy than other construction trade careers because much of the work involves repair and maintenance.
- Elevator installers and repairers are among the highest paid careers of all construction trades. Median hourly wages of elevator installers and repairers are about $35 an hour. The top 10% may earn $50 an hour.
You can also work for yourself after you build a reputation for your work. It's suggested that you work for a company for sometime to get a good footing from an established firm. After you learn all the skills and trade required to start fixing elevators, venture out and open your own company or just work for yourself.
Why not start a great career now?